Best Cities Rep

Yes, we have airports!

2012-01-16T13:36:00.001-05:00

All of our great cities have surprisingly easy transportation options for getting in and out of them as well as fun and interesting transportation offerings that can be utilized for VIP tours, spouse tours, training and team-building opportunities, romantic get-aways and perfect convention attendee excursions.

Whether you're flying into the lodge inspired airport at Traverse City, roaming through the newly expanded airport at Sacramento or enjoying on of the new non-stop flights (they just added 8 a day from DC) in Little Rock, our cities offer comfortable and affordable flights for your attendees. Sacramento is one of the few airports that allows motorcoach access so transportation is a breeze!

Our airports are also close-in. Not one of our cities' airports is more than 20 minutes from downtown so no more $100 and hour rides to get to a hotel room.

Flying in and out of Chattanooga will provide you not only gorgeous views of the mountains and lakes in the area but also give you a glimpse of the airport's solar farm. In addition to winning many awards for their green policies, Chattanooga can add the production of solar energy to it's impressive accolades. One of the first airport solar farms in the region, the solar farm's anticipated savings to the airport are $13 million in the first 20 years of operation.

Sacramento just opened a $1 billion dollar expansion at it's airport. In addition to providing a striking entrance to the capital of California, the terminal also houses a huge art display.

The $6 million in public art includes a distinctive centerpiece that is certain to generate attention, a suspended-in-air, 56-foot-long aluminum red hare leaping into a suitcase that dominates the glass-and-steel entryway.

Often mid-sized cities face some questions about their ability to provide airline service to attendees. All of our cities have airports with personality, ease of use and many more direct flights than expected. Send us an email at info@jsp-marketing.com and let us answers your questions.

Bigger isn't Better When Choosing Destinations

2011-08-22T15:28:00.006-04:00

Bigger isn't always better. In fact, when reviewing destinations for your upcoming conference, meeting or convention, 'bigger' is seldom better. There are multiple reasons many groups automatically look at large or first-tier cities for their conferences; hotel choice, transportation and attractions are a few. If you haven't widened your search and considered some mid-sizer cities lately, there are many more reasons you should.

Bigger cities come with a plethora of headaches for both planners and attendees. Crowded airports, high room rates, outrageous room taxes, contentious labor issues, and small fish/big pond syndrome are just some of the challenges when planning a meeting in a large/first-tier city. Luckily there are MANY mid-size cities that offer every single one of the elements needed for a great meeting.

Hotel rates and room taxes can be up to fifty percent lower in a smaller convention city. Mid-size or second/third tier cities often offer incentives and huge discounts on their convention space giving groups the options of a larger convention center/exhibit space well within their budget. Add that to lower labor costs/fewer labor issues and a meeting is much more attractive to both planners and attendees. Most smaller cities have several major chain hotels as well as a few local ones so planners can offer attendees a choice of options, greatly lowering their risk of attrition.

Airports in mid-size cities tend to offer much shorter check-in/out times and statistically have much higher on-time departure ratings. With our highly mobile society most cities now have airports offering direct flights to many major cities. If your attendees are flying in from all over the country/world, they are likely to have a change of plane regardless of their destination. And smaller cities have reasonable travel times from airport to downtown and often have complimentary shuttles.

Local intimate restaurants with world-class food are staples in mid-size convention cities. Mid-size cities always have hidden gems unique to their geography and culture. VIP tours, attendance at sporting events, large art festivals, historic venues and great outdoor activities are available in all of the best convention cities. Having a city choice that encourages attendees to come in early and stay late is always popular with planners because these 'shoulder' reservations boost overall room night counts and offer another attrition buffer.

Most importantly, a mid-size convention city is just that. Taking 600-1000 people to a large city will always make you one of many in town that week. Taking that same group to a top-of-the-line mid-size convention city makes you the only game in town. Restaurants staff up, taxi-cab companies are on alert, and the hospitality industry in town knows you're coming and appreciates your business. Convention and Visitor's Bureaus in these cities assist with marketing and make sure your attendees are aware of the great opportunities they have in visiting their city while attending your meeting.

The next time you're looking for a high-tech convention center or meeting venue that is affordable, flexible, hospitable and attractive to your attendees, consider a mid-size city. Everything you need for a successful meeting!

5 Reasons To Use a CVB

2011-07-25T12:33:00.000-04:00

Professional planners have many choices when beginning the search for a destination for their upcoming events. Many use national sales offices, third party search firms, or recommendations from board members or colleagues. Some use a combination of several of those options but everyone should be using the city's official representation organization as well. CVB's aren't competitive to any of the other methods of destination searches so they can be used in conjunction with other methods in use and certainly can be used by the planner directly. Below are just five of the many reasons to make the CVB your first call when destination shopping!

City Reps Know Their Properties: The representatives of a convention bureau/destination management organization are experts on their venues. They know the dimensions immediately of the options you'll have in their cities. They know which hotels work well together if you require more than one for your group. They've attended events in every single venue they represent so they can give you first hand accounts of what fits well, who has balconies, what is modern, what is traditional and what might fit your needs. They aren't representing one venue so they can give you an honest overview of what is available, even if it is a property that isn't on the radar of others you reference.

City Reps Know Their City: Every city has seasonal events, festivals, rainy seasons...that the city's representatives are aware of. They live in those cities and their entire focus is getting to know their cities (and usually their competitive set as well) inside and out. They can give you great information about restaurant weeks, festivals in the park, city-wide art shows and more than can assist you in choosing the best times for your group. They can also arrange group tickets and transportation to many of these events.

City Reps Can Assist You With Both Centers and Hotels: Just as a hotel national sales representative assists you with the individual property you are interested in, the city reps can make introductions to hotel management and make sure the hotels are aware of the value of your business, not just to them, but to the city as a whole. This provides a planner with support as he/she negotiates. CVBs are also part of a national network that provides group history so they are able to really make sure the group's value and needs are front and center.

City Reps Can Bring You Discounts: When working on a hotel and convention center package, the city representatives can let you know of any available discounts, rebates or transportation subsidies they have available. Remember, the city's representatives want you to come to their city, eat in their restaurants, ride in their taxis and shop in their stores. They work together with all of the partners to provide the most affordable and appealing packages available.

City Reps Are FREE: Cities found their tourism representatives through several methods: room-tax, membership and others. They do NOT fund their comprehensive and professional services through fees to their clients the planners. They can run hotel site selection searches, restaurant searches, other off-site venues searches and more. They can provide you with recommendations on everything from translators/interpreters to team building coaches. And they cost you nothing.

Please reach out to the convention and visitor's bureau/destination marketing organization for any cities that you are considering for upcoming events. You will be delighted at the range of their services and their eagerness to share their city with you.